An Innocence Restored
by Baby You're My Immortal
Summary: When Draco Malfoy's father dies in the Summer after sixth year, Draco's determined to return to Hogwarts in September with a new outlook on life. He's determined to do well by everyone and leave all of the prejudices behind, but with everyone pestering him on his father's death, it seems he's not going to be able to forget his past. **COMPLETE**
1. Chapter 1

An Innocence Restored

**FULL SUMMARY: When Draco Malfoy's father dies in the Summer after sixth year, Draco is determined to return to Hogwarts in September with a new outlook on life. He's determined to do well by everyone and leave all of the prejudices behind, but with everyone pestering him on his father's death, it seems it's going to be impossible to forget his past and the darkness that was woven within it. It seems that only a certain Muggle-born is going to listen to what he has to say without bringing up memories of his father.**

**Author's Note: Well, this my first Draco/Hermione story, so please forgive me if it's not entirely up to scratch. Anyway, I think it's important to mention that this story will not follow the books. It'll be set in seventh year, but there won't be a way, meaning that Fred will still be alive etc. Also, Dumbledore won't be dead. In addition, Voldemort won't be part of this story. It'll just be sheer Dramione! Oh, I also put a quote or a lyric on each of my chapters. Just thought I'd warn you before you started reading the story. Enjoy and please leave me some feedback!**

**Lyrics: You say we can learn from this, but I just don't know what to do without you anymore.**

Chapter One

As Draco Malfoy stepped out from the barrier, he met a sight that would have made him sick to the stomach last year. The platform was packed with witches and wizards all saying goodbye to their families. A few were crying and others were laughing with their friends that they hadn't seen since last term. This level of joy would have infuriated him had he not vowed to make a change to the way he acted.

The death of a father can do that to a boy of only seventeen. Ever since Lucius died during the Summer, Draco had felt that he didn't have to live up to anymore expectations. He would give anything in the world to have his father back, though. The way he saw it, it happened for a reason and he had to look for the good things that may be able to come of it.

Now, it sort of made him pleased to see everyone act like this. Over the Summer, he had been through an ordeal that he would love to forget. To see everyone so happy almost made him feel the same. Hell, he almost felt as though the death of his father wasn't going to affect him too much anymore.

As he pushed past through people on the platform, he tried to ignore the stares from the students as they thought of what to say. Well, what do you say to the kid who lost a parent during the Summer? Exactly. There isn't much you really can say and even if you try, it won't make the person feel any better.

"What's up, Malfoy?" A voice asked from behind him. He turned to see Blaise jogging up behind him. He had told him last term that he would be sure to keep connected with him over the Summer, but after everything that had happened to his family, he simply hadn't found the time.

"Not much" Malfoy replied sadly as he pushed his trunk up the steps of the Hogwarts Express, beginning to miss seeing his father waving him off. "Same old" He could tell that things were going to be a little awkward between him and all of his friends for a little while. After all, they all seemed to be trying to comfort him about his father's death, but all he wanted to do was forget it.

"I'm sorry about your father" Blaise finally said once they had reached an empty compartment on the train. "Lucius was a good man" Draco couldn't properly agree. He had known of his plans to bring Voldemort back and he had never really approved of them. Yes, he had been in Slytherin and yes, he was probably destined to live a life of darkness, but he feared Lord Voldemort as much as any other wizard did in Hogwarts. He didn't want him back.

"Hmm, he was" Draco hummed as he looked out the window at the platform. Blaise seemed to take the hint that Malfoy wasn't in the mood for talking and abruptly quietened down, leaving Draco to his own devices. His eyes scanned the platform with precision. He half expected his father to be standing there, conversing with a few other parents, but looking stony and annoyed.

"Oh, here they come" Blaise muttered as he stared out the same window that Draco was looking out of. For a moment, confusion swept over Draco before his eyes followed where Blaise was looking to see the trio that everyone knew. A glare morphed onto Draco's face as his eyes fell on Harry Potter's scar. Perhaps his father wouldn't have died had Harry not been born. Perhaps the stress of trying to bring the Dark Lord back to strength wouldn't have killed him.

"Do you have any idea how much I hate them?" Draco asked before his promise to himself came flooding back. No, there was to be no more hate towards any students unless they had purposely done something that he didn't agree with. They may have done all of that stuff to him in the past, but it was only because of what he had done to them. Besides, he was turning over a new leaf. That meant forgiving everyone and bearing a clean slate.

"Yeah, I think I have a pretty good idea" Blaise chuckled, his eyes never leaving the three as they said goodbye to the rest if the Weasley's before boarding the train.

"Maybe we should stop with the hatred" Malfoy voiced, almost fearing what Blaise was going to say…what Blaise was going to tell everyone else. Well, everyone knows that Malfoy was notorious for being the most horrible, evil people in the school. Suggesting to be nice to people was just not what was expected of him.

"What on Earth have you done with the real Draco Malfoy?" Blaise joked as he leaned back in his seat and pulled out the Daily Prophet and began to read before turning back to face the blonde. "Ten sickles says you won't last being a nice person" Blaise wagered as he grinned at Malfoy. Well, it was nice to know how much faith they had in him.

"Hey, I'm not always a huge prick" Draco laughed…it had probably been the first real laugh he had experienced since before his father's death. Perhaps Hogwarts wasn't all too bad. Maybe he'd finally be able to enjoy it like everyone else seemed to. The simple thought was enough to cheer Draco up.

"Oh believe me, you are" Blaise laughed, his eyes returning to the paper in his hands. The train began to move forward, and Draco's eyes were trained on the window once more. Older witches and wizards waved goodbye to their kids before they became just a distant blur and then finally, their faces were replaced with the whir of green trees.

…

A few carriages down from where Draco and Blaise sat, Hermione, Ron, Harry and Ginny were in a deep conversation. Their heads were huddled close together as they mumbled about a Slytherin boy that had been all too familiar in their years at Hogwarts.

"Do you think he's going to be worse than he ever was now that his father's dead?" Ron asked as he looked around the carriage anxiously as though Malfoy was going to burst in on them at any moment.

"He probably will be" Ginny sighed as she looked down at the floor with a sad look in her eyes. She had often been the victim of Malfoy's cruel bullying and she couldn't imagine how it could ever get worse.

"He's got no reason to get nicer" Harry chipped in. "Let's face it, wouldn't losing a family member just make people carry more animosity?"

"I don't think that's how Malfoy's taking it" Hermione suddenly chipped in as thoughts of seeing him when she was on the platform came back to her. The others in the group looked at her as though she had gone mental and flashed her looks that said 'explain yourself now or you're out of the gang.' "When we were getting on the train, I saw him in the carriage. He was looking out the window. Yeah, he looked sad, but who wouldn't be? I saw no anger in his eyes. I'd place money on him being nicer this year."

"Since when did you ever think that Draco Malfoy could be nice?" Ron questioned as he shook his head in defiance. He was absolutely adamant that Hermione was wrong. If she was right, it would mean he would have to start getting along with Malfoy in order to be a good person. He didn't ever want that to happen.

"Hermione could be right" Ginny supported as her face contorted with thought. "Malfoy was close to his father. If he lost him, he'd want all of the friends he can get. He wouldn't want to feel anymore alone. Maybe that's what he's doing."

"Hmm, the theory makes sense" Hermione replied before unfolding her copy of the Daily Prophet, no longer surprised to see stories on Lucius Malfoy all over the front cover. When someone as high up and as important as him dies, well it doesn't go unnoticed.

…

The train soon slowed to a stop and most occupants of the train began to clamber out of their carriages and into the middle aisle. Malfoy was among one of the first to get off simply because he didn't want to hang around a large group of people if they were just going to ask questions.

"Hey man, wait up" He heard Blaise call from behind him before a sharp tug stopped him from practically running away. "You've turned soft, my friend" It felt as though Draco could actually hear the grin in his voice. Maybe he was turning soft. Maybe he was becoming just like Potter and his stupid followers. He mentally slapped himself as he remembered that he was supposed to be being nice to everyone. Well, what Blaise doesn't know, won't hurt him.

"Sorry, I'm just hungry" He lied quickly as he followed the familiar path that led to the castle. Behind him, were a few Hufflepuff's and in front he found the infamous Gryffindor's. Before he even had a chance to really register who it was, the eldest girl turned around and smiled at him. His eyes fell on Granger before they widened. What in God's name was that!? Did Hermione Granger just smile at him after all the horrible things he had said to her?

"Hello, Draco" She greeted before turning back to her dumbfounded group and strutting into the castle with Draco following close behind.

"Hello, Granger" He replied, although he doubted that she could even hear him. It didn't take long for Malfoy to figure out what had just happened. He had actually been given a sympathy vote from Hermione Granger. What was the world coming to?

Still, he had managed to stay friendly and that meant that he was closer to winning the bet with Blaise.

"Those ten sickles will be mine before you know it" He whispered to Blaise once they were seated in the majestic great hall. Finally, a familiar smirk sparked back to life within him. It seemed that Draco was still able to have a little fun with his _friends._

**Yes, I am well aware that that was probably a dreadful first chapter, but I'm going to give it a go anyway! Please review and tell me if you think I should continue. Thanks to anyone who took the time to read this! Oh, and of course I'd like to say a big Happy New Year to everyone. I hope your 2013 is good!**


	2. Chapter 2

An Innocence Restored

**Author's Note: Well, on one of my previous stories I had a thank you section which I'm going to introduce to this story because I feel that it shows my high appreciation for people who take the time to leave a review, so at the beginning of each chapter I'll have that section.**

**THANK YOU:**

**Guest: **Thanks for giving me my first review and it was so lovely! Hope you enjoy this chapter!

**suchafangirl8998: **Thanks for making me want to continue this story! I hope you enjoy this update!

**Lyrics: Say all you will say while we're still listening**

Chapter Two

As Draco sauntered into the Great Hall, he plastered a smile onto his face, hoping that it would stop people from asking him how he was coping with what had happened over the holidays. It seemed to work…well, apart from the stares that followed him as he made it to his usual seat at the Slytherin table.

A few mouths opened as though they were going to ask him how he was feeling, but the glare that Draco shot them made them stop in their tracks and shut them right up once more.

"So, how was your summer?" Draco asked a few of the people that sat near him. The pleasantries from him were rather unexpected, so most people didn't answer him…they simply stared at him with their mouths open as though he had truly said something completely impossible. Well, it would have been nice for a response. Jesus, all he wanted to do was try and be nice this year.

"Guys, close your mouths" Blaise scolded as he shot them a look of disgust. It seemed that a certain Slytherin was still going to be being cruel this year. "We're not a pack of animals. God, who the fuck let you in Slytherin"

Draco could tell straight away that it was definitely going to be the same old Blaise…he just prayed that his final year at Hogwarts wouldn't be just like the years previous.

…

On the Gryffindor table, everything was entirely different. Hermione, Ron, Harry and Ginny were deep in conversation about Draco.

"I'm sure he can understand why we said hello to him" Hermione began to explain as she leaned in closer to the other three to prevent others from hearing the conversation. "But that doesn't explain why he said hello back. If anything, shouldn't he be even worse after what happened to him? I'm surprised he didn't have a witty insult to chuck back at me, to be honest"

"I don't know why you're all giving this so much thought" Ron grumbled, stuffing a chicken leg into his mouth as he rolled his eyes. It seemed that the others talking about Draco were going to start putting him off of his food. "This is Draco Malfoy we're talking about. He's always plotting something to get to us. Why do you think he's changed at all?"

"I never said that I thought he had changed" Hermione growled defensively. "Think about it, Ronald. His father has just died. Even if they didn't get on particularly well, that's still going to be hard on him. When he comes back to school for the first time, I'm sure that we're going to be the last thing on his mind."

"Have you paid any attention to anything that's happened for the past six years?" Ron asked as he raised his eyebrows at Hermione, finally turning his attention away from the chicken leg. "We've always been the only thing on Malfoy's mind…and we probably always will be. As long as we're miserable, he's happy. That's not going to change now. Do you really think he's had some sort of epiphany?"

"You're still not listening to a word I'm saying." Hermione snapped, fixing the Weasley with a hard glare. "It doesn't matter. You're just going to keep being insensitive"

"Whatever you say, Hermione" Ron grumbled, knowing when Hermione was more likely to win an argument. Mostly, he just wanted everyone's first day back at Hogwarts to go smoothly unlike how the rest of the year was probably going to go. "Now why don't we just enjoy the feast and catch up before we have to go to the dormitory?"

The foursome attempted to do just that, but it wasn't quite the same as it had been for the past six years. Everyone's minds were filled with thoughts of Malfoy as they tried to decipher what he meant. It was just a simple 'hello.' Why were they overthinking it so much!?

…

"Looks like Pothead's getting a little angsty over there" Malfoy heard Blaise laugh as he nodded his head over to the Gryffindor table. They were all huddled close and whispering about something that seemed to be angering everyone on the table.

Just as Draco started to bask in the glory of such discomfort that was haunting the Gryffindor's, he remembered his deal with Blaise and attempted to calm his slyness down.

"Hey, am I allowed to sometimes be mean about them to you?" Draco then asked Blaise once he started missing the insults he used to say about them. Well, he couldn't just quit cold turkey, could he?

"Oh, that's how you want to play it" Blaise laughed. Malfoy noticed the twinkle in Blaise's eyes which alerted him that Blaise had a trick up his sleeve. Whatever it was, Malfoy would bet one hundred galleons that it wasn't going to be good. "Because I'm such a nice man, I'm going to let you be as mean as you want about them when you're around me…but that's only if you get extra close to the Mudblood…if you catch my drift."

Malfoy's eyes went wide as he stared at the Gryffindor table. "You want me to try and date…Granger?"

"No, no, no, no, no" Blaise shook his head. "I just want you to seduce her…make her believe that you're really interested. You know what I mean. You need to make her want you. After that, you can break her heart and you get the money"

"But she's a Mudblood" Malfoy growled. "How the fuck do you expect me to seduce when I'll be wanting to gag every time I lay my eyes on her? Come on, that wasn't the deal"

"Nah, this is the new deal" Blaise laughed, enjoying seeing Malfoy write in discomfort. It doesn't exactly happen very often, after all. "You can either accept the challenge or the deal is off. What do you say?"

"Why are you even changing it to that?" Malfoy asked. "What could can possibly come of it?"

"Exactly!" Blaise cheered. "Hogwarts is growing rather boring now. I'm sure a Slytherin seducing a Mudblood Gryffindor would really spice things up a bit…so are you going to take the challenge?"

"You know that I really hate you for this, right?" Draco questioned, his eyes falling on the Gryffindor table once more as he observed Granger. They no longer looked angry with each other, but Draco could tell straight away that there was an awkward air around them. If Draco did take the bet, it would be a good idea to win her heart when she was feeling this resentful towards her friends. Perhaps if he chose to accept this bet, it wouldn't be as hard as he believed it would be. After all, he could be sweet when he wanted to be and he did have the charm and the good looks to get a girl. The only problem was, he had been downright horrible to Granger ever since he had first met her. No matter how good looking someone is…well, it's hard to forget hatred like that.

On the other hand, it had been a long time since he had a challenge with a girl and he missed it. Everyone knew that the chase was what people enjoyed about relationships. I mean, you always wanted the one that you couldn't have, right? Not that Draco wanted her…not at all!

"Oh yeah, I know you hate me" Blaise laughed, completely unaware of the war that was going through Draco's head. "Even if your dad did die in the holidays, I'm not going easy on you" A pang of sadness went through Draco at the way Blaise just mentioned his father's dead so casually. It seemed that was just the sense of humour that Slytherin had.

"Fine, I'll do it" Draco sighed, tearing his gaze away from the Gryffindor table. "You so owe me for this. Just so you know, this proves that I'm ten times better than you" Blaise simply shrugged and turned back to his plate of food, loading even more onto the already full china.

"Whatever gets you through the day, Malfoy" He joked before shoving a roast potato in his mouth. "We all know that I'm the hottest Slytherin here"

"Of course you are, Blaise" Draco said sarcastically, casting one last look towards Granger. Why did it have to be her that he had to seduce? Anyone else would have been better…even a Hufflepuff.

…

Once the feast was over, Ron, Hermione, Harry and Ginny made their way up to the dormitory with full stomachs. The sickness of eating too much was hanging between them, making the stairs seem like nothing but ominous obstacles.

"Did you notice the way Malfoy kept looking over at our table?" Ginny asked, being the first one to break the no talking about Malfoy rule. Hermione hated to admit it, but she had noticed it as well and had wanted to bring it up with the others.

"Yeah, I noticed that" Harry sighed as they hauled themselves up the stairs.

"He's probably planning his next move to sabotage us" Ron huffed, reach the fat lady and clearing his throat to say the password. "Caput Draconis"

"Oh, Ron" Hermione grumbled. "Could you ever give it a rest for once in your life? You're all being rather paranoid"

"Are you in cahoots with him or something?" Ron questioned turning on her as soon as they got into the common room. "You seem to be acting like his number one fan all of a sudden"

"No, Ron" She defended, fixing him with yet another hard glare. "I'm not his number one fan. I just thought that after everything that had happened last year, we could just forget all of our past differences and just get alone for once. People died last year, Ron. I'm sure we can forget a silly feud with the Malfoy's. I'm tired of all of these judgemental issues that we all have with each other."

"Well, that makes sense when you put it like that" Ron finally agreed, looking down at the floor instead of Hermione's eyes. He absolutely hated it whenever he realised that she was right.

"Thank you" She sighed. "It looks you're finally starting to see sense for once. Please stop with all of this nonsense about how he's trying to destroy us. I'm going to bed. Goodnight, boys" As she started to clamber up the staircase that led to the girls' dormitory, she heard a voice call up after her.

"Well, I'm still not going to fully trust him" Ron shouted. With a smirk, she opened the door to the dormitory and lay in her four poster bed. Ah, how she had missed Hogwarts.

…

Back in the Slytherin common room, things were a little different. Blaise was busy telling a few of the guys about his bet with Draco and they simply couldn't get enough of it. It seemed as though no one could wait for the next day to get back to proper lessons…to see Draco and Hermione in a lesson together. To everyone else, this bet seemed like good fun and an excellent form of entertainment.

Oh, Draco didn't want to do this…

**Again, I want to say thank you to the people that reviewed on the first chapter. I hope you have all enjoyed this chapter and please keep the feedback coming! XD**


	3. Chapter 3

An Innocence Restored

**Author's Note: So sorry for going on temporary hiatus! I promise it won't happen again. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter and please keep the feedback coming!**

**THANK YOU:**

**suchafangirl8998: **Well, I guess you'll just have to keep reading to find out ;) Thanks for the review. Hope you enjoy this chapter!

**XxXRose-DimitriForeverXxX: **Thanks so much for your review. It really means a lot! Hope you enjoy!

**Lyrics: I ruled the world with these hands I shook the heavens to the ground.**

Chapter Three

The sun shone weakly through the windows of the library, casting the table Hermione sat on into a golden light that looked ready to flicker out at any moment. Hermione supposed that it would get brighter as the day went on. After all, it was still rather early in the morning. There was plenty of time for the day to grow warmer. It was only September. They still had a few weeks of warmth left in store for them.

She flipped the pages through the larger than life textbook she had on the desk, her eyes scanning rapidly over the words, her finger tracing the words as she read each one as one hand scribbled notes about things she already knew about potions onto a piece of spare parchment.

Hermione was so engrossed in her reading that she didn't even hear the chair opposite her scrape across the floor in that wicked way that made that horrific screeching sound that made most people shudder. She didn't notice when someone thumped down into the seat and flicked through a book of similar size to hers. Hell, she didn't even notice when the boy opposite her asked to borrow a quill. She simply stuck her hand in her bag, rummaged around for it and then slid it over the desk at him.

"Make sure you give it back" She said, not taking her eyes off the book in front of her, her hands still scrawling notes at a rapid speed.

…

This was going to be a lot harder than Draco thought it was going to be. How on Earth was he supposed to attract her attention when all that was on her mind was the goddamn book in front of her? He couldn't just sit right next to her and start demanding to talk to her. That would alert her straight away that he was up to something. No, he was going to have to be tactful about this if he was going to make sure it would work. This was going to take carefulness on Draco's part. It would take time. He'd have to befriend her and then she'd realise how brilliant he could truly be. It would only be a matter of time before she fell for him.

Slowly, he leaned over the table to get closer to her. Hmm, she wasn't as bad looking as he used to think. Hey, her hair was a hell of a lot straighter than it was last year. "Granger?" His voice was unusually soft. Surely she'd have to look up at that. Surely she'd recognise his voice. After all, he had shouted insults at her enough times. His voice must be rather familiar to her. That wasn't the case. She had nodded to gesture for him to go on, but still hadn't looked up. She must be so enthralled by that book that she couldn't even tell who it was talking. Wow, could the library really be that fun for her?

"What do you want?" She asked impatiently as Draco stayed in absolute silence. If he was quiet for long enough, she'd have to look up. The conversation would flow from there.

"Granger, I was just wondering if you could help me with my notes" He said with the exact same soft tone he used before. "After all, I know how good at potions you are."

At last she finally looked up. She was probably just going to snap about how she had her own work to deal with, but as soon as she saw Draco sitting opposite her, any comment was lost on her lips. She simply sat in her seat frozen and her mouth wide open.

"Well, what do you say?" Draco asked, feeling the awkwardness sweep through them. You could cut the tension with a knife. "Are you going to help me or not?"

…

"Why would I help you?" Hermione sneered as she folded her arms over her chest defensively. Was this acceptable? After all, Draco had just lost his father. Hermione believed that she should at least try being nice to him if he was already going through so much. She couldn't just add to it. Ron may think that it's perfectly acceptable to go on exactly as normal, but Hermione simply couldn't do that. Her heart wouldn't allow such bitterness to come from it.

"Because you're feeling guilty about everything that happened" He answered omnisciently with a smug grin. "Now that my father's dead, you're thinking about all the horrible things you said to me. Well, you were well within your rights to say those things about me. I was awful to you too."

"Yeah, and how would you know what I feel?" Hermione questioned, making it sound as though she was challenging him, but she was only curious.

"Because it's exactly what everyone is feeling towards me. Only pity is what I get from others. Some make it more obvious than others. Like that girl from Hufflepuff who kissed me on the cheek last night before I even got a chance to move away. She told me everything would be okay if I just believed. Some bullshit like that. You, on the other hand, are making it a lot less obvious…but I know it's there. If it wasn't, you'd have stormed out of the library by now. Or you'd have punched me in the face…again."

Inside she grinned at the memory of hitting Draco in the face during third year. She had always hoped that Draco would bring up the incident at some point. Granted it was so she could brag about it, but she no longer felt that need. At least not at this moment in time. Not after everything he had been through. Once he had returned to normal, she would be able to get her own back on him using this moment. For now, she wanted to know why he was talking so weirdly.

"Malfoy, what are you talking about?" She asked in that impatient manner that she possessed so eloquently. He cocked one head to the side as though he was staring deep into Hermione's soul. She assumed he was only doing it to freak her out. It wouldn't be the first time he had tried to play mind games with her. In fact, it was often his prime form of entertainment.

"You really have no idea, do you?" He questioned finally, his head going to its rightful angle.

"No idea about what?" She asked, growing more irritated over this blonde annoyance. All she wanted to do was read her book and then get some breakfast in the Great Hall. Was he really going to deny her that on the grounds that he wanted to make her feel awkward? This was Draco Malfoy. Of course that's what he wanted to do.

"I'll take that as a 'yes' then" Draco laughed. "I've changed, Granger. I honestly don't hate you anymore. Yes, you may be a little irritating at times, but you're really not that bad. You're clearly going places with that magical ability of yours and I guess you're a good person."

That was the closest thing to a compliment Hermione had ever gotten from Draco. She didn't know whether to laugh or cry. It probably meant nothing, though. Well, nothing ever did mean anything when it came from the mouth of Malfoy.

"So, is this like your new year's resolution?" She asked, looking highly sceptical of the whole situation. If it was, he would last a week if that. Hermione wasn't saying he didn't intend to be nicer. Oh, he could want to be the nicest person in the world, but that doesn't mean he actually will be. No, it's in his nature to be mean and cruel. It's a habit now and we all know that old habits die hard.

"I guess you could call it that" Draco answered with a smile that he had never given anyone apart from Pansy Parkinson and that was only on a good day. "So, are you going to help me with my notes or not?"

"No" Was all Hermione said as she returned to her own book with a firm shake of her head. Was Draco really enjoying teasing her in an almost friendly way? Shouldn't the universe have imploded by now if that was true?

"Please don't be this way, Granger" Draco pleaded with a pout that most Slytherin girls would kill to see. "Come on, I'll take you out on a date if you help me. I'll even start calling you Hermione instead of Granger. Come on, it's not a bad bargain."

"Trust me, Malfoy" Hermione said hotly. "The last thing I want is a date with someone like you. So, you can take your bargain and you can shove it up your arse!" With that said, she slammed her book closed and stormed out of the library, her school shoes stomping off the ground as she went.

"Feisty. I like that about you" Draco called after her, believing the annoyed glare of Madam Pince was worth it for the horrified look on Hermione's face.

…

Draco sat alone in the library once she had left, his face with simply alight with a grin as he replayed the whole encounter in his head once more. He had not expected to get such a satisfying reaction from her, but now that he had he found himself hungry for more.

When he took the bet from Blaise, he hadn't believed that it would be quite as fun as it was. Perhaps this game wouldn't be as boring and humiliating as he had thought it was.

"Well, Draco" A voice laughed from behind one of the bookcases before coming out to sit in the seat that Hermione previously vacated. "You are quite the actor."

"I intend to win this bet, Blaise" Draco grinned, closing the book that he had only used to get closer to Hermione. "I'm pulling out all the stops on this one. She refused to go on a date with me this time, but it won't be long before she cracks. Next time she gets into an argument with Ron, I'll swoop in and that'll be when she falls for me."

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were quite enjoying this" Blaise accused, his eyebrow rising in mild amusement.

"Can you blame me?" Draco asked as he looked on at the door that Hermione had recently barged out of. "It's rather interesting to do this. You'd be intrigued if you were in my position too."

"As long as you doing actually get any feelings for the girl then I'm happy" Blaise sighed, leaning back in his chair as though he owned the place. "There's no way I'm admitting that I was responsible for getting a Slytherin and a Gryffindor together. That would completely ruin my reputation. Your happiness isn't worth that."

Ah, nothing really mattered to Blaise apart from getting some laughs at someone else's expense. Well, who was Draco to rectify his friend's behaviour? After all, he had done it enough times.

"Don't worry, Blaise" Draco assured, tearing his eyes away from the doorway. "There's no way in hell that that will ever happen. She's a Mudblood."

**Again, I'm so sorry for going on temporary hiatus! Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this long-awaited chapter and please leave some feedback. Thank you all so much for reading! It means a lot!**


	4. Chapter 4

An Innocence Restored

**Author's Note: Thanks to everyone who read the last chapter. I hope you all enjoy this one!**

**THANK YOU:**

**Guest: Thanks so much for the constructive criticism. I'll take it all into account. Hope you enjoy this chapter.**

**XxXRose-DimitriForeverXxX: Thanks very much for the review. It means a lot! Enjoy this chapter!**

**Lyrics: Everybody wants eternal life. Nobody can seem to get it right. Our days are numbered and you're no fool**

Chapter Four

Hermione just couldn't understand it. Every day he was there. It was like there was no possible way to escape him. If she dropped a book, it was like he magically appeared to pick it up for her, flashing that smile that made most girls drool. If she was struggling to find a book in the library, he was there with it clutched tightly in his hands. If there wasn't a seat in the library, he'd give up his for her. Although she should be pleased that she had someone looking out for her, it was impossible to feel more annoyed about the entire situation. Why couldn't he just take the hint and leave her alone? After all, it would be saving everybody a hell of a lot of time.

She continued on with her usual system of a morning which was to get in some extra reading time in the library. Draco sat at their usual table. Not that she was surprised by that at all. After all, he had been doing the same thing for almost a week now. Shouldn't he be bored by it now? She would be if she was in his position. She was sure that constant rejection would get tiring after a while.

At least there was something different about it today. He wasn't alone today. Blaise sat on the table in Hermione's usual seat. If he was surrounded by other Slytherin's, he probably wouldn't be quite as nice to her as he has been the past week. After all, he does have a reputation to protect. He wouldn't waste it on a Mudblood like her. If people were to really think that Draco was being nice to a Mudblood, he would be ruined. Well, he wouldn't be able to avoid it for much longer. Everything gets around Hogwarts like wildfire. He wouldn't be able to keep his charade going for much longer if he really did want to keep his reputation intact.

As she approached the table, Draco pulled out the seat next to him and gestured for her to take a seat. She had plenty of other options, but she sat with him anyway. Even though she found this game he was playing cruel and demeaning, she was still interested to see how it would play out.

"Good morning, Hermione" Draco greeted, still using her first name like he promised her would. It only served to irk Hermione more. She believed that 'Granger' suited her just fine when it was Draco talking.

"Good morning, Blaise" Hermione said, choosing to ignore Draco for the first time since he started treating her nicely. That would frustrate him. Hell, maybe he'd finally get the message…even though she highly doubted that.

"Morning, Granger" Blaise said awkwardly, not used to the attention from her, nor did he enjoy it either. He also had a reputation to protect.

"Have you finished your potions homework?" Hermione asked, fully intending to be as civilised to Blaise as she could, but he was making it rather difficult. Who chews gum in a library? Apparently Blaise. Who hums under their breath in a library? Apparently Blaise. Was he just doing this to annoy her?

"Granger, what are you doing?" Blaise asked with a hopeless look. "I don't want to be friends with you. My good friend Draco over here does. Why don't you give him some attention and leave me alone?"

She couldn't believe it. She had found someone worse than Draco.

"I'm not looking so bad now am I, Hermione?" Draco teased.

"No, you're not" Hermione admitted with a slight smile. Perhaps he was just trying to turn over a new leaf.

"I've finished my potions homework" He said. "You know, not that you were asking." Was that a hint of jealousy in Draco that she could sense? Surely it couldn't be. Draco Malfoy doesn't get jealous. Well, at least not when it comes to Hermione.

"That's good to know" Hermione commented, opening her book and settling with her usual ignoring Draco vibe.

After what felt like ages of silence, Blaise snapped his book shut with a loud bang and glared at the two.

"Would you two just kiss already?" He laughed, allowing his glare to morph into a smile.

"Wh-what are you ta-talking about?" Hermione asked. Shocked wasn't even the word for how she felt right now. How dare he say something like that to her! He didn't even know her. Frustration and shock was all she could feel right now.

"Oh, please" Blaise scoffed, leaning back in his chair and inspecting the two as though they were exhibits at a museum. "Sweetie, you can't be that oblivious" He said, using the pet name to try and make her feel even more awkward. "You're the best student here. How can you not see what's going on? Honey, you could cut through this atmosphere with a knife."

"You don't know what the hell you're talking about" Hermione snapped, growing increasingly frustrated with the pet names he had for her. He stood up abruptly, slinging his bag over his shoulder and sauntering out.

"Sexual tension, my friends" He called over his shoulder. "Look it up."

With that ending comment, Hermione stood up and stormed off without looking back at Draco who was almost just as shocked as she was by Blaise's comments.

…

As they stood in potions with their cauldrons bubbling, Draco seized the opportunity to harass Blaise about what he did in the library.

"Okay, was that some sort of attempt at helping me out with this bet?" He asked under his breath, only too aware of Hermione being at the other side of the room. She could easily hear and then this would all have been a complete waste of time.

"No, not really" Blaise answered, taking satisfaction at making yet another person feel uncomfortable. Even if it was his friend. "I'm really struggling to understand you, Draco"

"How do you mean?" He asked, growing increasingly annoyed by how confusing the entire situation was becoming. If he could go back in time, he would say no to this stupid bet that was making his life even harder.

"Well, you came here at the start of the year with the idea of turning over a new leaf and being nice to people" Blaise started. "Then you took my bet. How is that being nice to people?"

"It's not like she's ever going to find out about the bet" Draco waved off as he continued to stir the mixture in his cauldron. "Look, I'll make her like me. We'll go on a date and I'll let her down gently. No one has to know about the bet. It's a win-win situation. Besides everyone knows she likes Weasley. I'm not actually going to hurt her feelings."

"Whatever you say, Draco" Blaise sighed, not believing a word that was coming out of Draco's mouth.

"What do you mean now?" Draco asked, tapping his foot impatiently on the hard, stone floors of the dungeon.

"I wasn't kidding about the tension in that library" Blaise answered, suddenly turning completely serious. It put Draco on edge. Blaise was never serious. Not even when Draco's dad died. Blaise always managed to put a humorous spin on things. You either loved it or you hated it about him. "Either she likes you or you like her. I'm just not sure which way it is yet."

"You're crazy" Draco scoffed, feeling his cheeks go pink. Woah, that never happened. What was Blaise doing to him? Draco couldn't tell exactly what it was, but he knew he didn't like it one bit.

"I don't think I'm the one that's turning crazy, Draco" Blaise laughed. It was the kind of laugh that meant that the situation really wasn't all that amusing to anyone. "I'm not the one who could possibly be falling for a Mudblood."

"Blaise, it's not going to happen" Draco sighed, attempting to make light of the situation. Perhaps that would show Blaise how preposterous he was being. "I've told you one million times. I'm not going to fall for her. Would you just let it go?"

"Alright, whatever you say" Blaise sighed in the kind of tone that told Draco that this wasn't over. Not by a long while.

…

Meanwhile, on the other side of the classroom, things weren't looking any brighter than they were for Draco. As Hermione attempted to stir the mixture in her cauldron, Ron was hounding her with questions about Draco.

"Come on, Hermione" He groaned, leaning over the desk in that dramatic way of his as though he was going to keel over and die at any given moment. Hermione simply gave a roll of her eyes and continued to add ingredients. "Please just tell us what's going on. It's not like it's really a big secret when you think about it. The entirety of Hogwarts is talking about it. We're going to find out what's happening eventually. You might as well save us the trouble."

"Ronald, please be quiet" Hermione scolded, reverting to calling him by his full name as she usually did in situations like these. It usually informed him of when he overstepped the mark. "And I think you're exaggerating just a tad there. Besides, they're going to have a lot of trouble with that because there's nothing to talk about. So, I sat with Draco a couple of times in the library. Big deal."

"How can you say that?" Ron asked in frustration. "It's a huge deal. You're even calling him by his first name! You shouldn't be going anywhere near him."

"Since when were you allowed to tell me what to do?" Hermione asked hotly, feeling her anger almost ready to boil over as it did so many times when she was around Ron. To make it worse, Harry just stared at the pair and let them get on with it. All she wanted was support from someone.

"Since I spoke more sense than you did" Ron bit back, disappointment etched all over his face. Was talking to Draco really that bad? "He's not turning over a new leaf. For an intelligent witch, you're really dumb."

"Well, I can say one thing for sure about Draco" Hermione hissed. "He's treating me a lot nicer than you are." With that, she marched straight out of the dungeon, believing that a detention with Snape would be more reasonable than spending another half hour in the same classroom as Ron.

…

Draco saw his window of opening. The argument with Weasley that he had predicted a week ago. He knew it was inevitable that it would be coming, but he hadn't expected it to be so early on. Well, the sooner the better, right? All he had to do was speak to Hermione in the library tomorrow morning and she would be smitten.

"Blaise, your money will soon be mine" Draco chuckled, watching the door that Hermione had recently slammed shut in her rage.

"I wouldn't be so sure of that" Blaise retorted with a smug smirk. "I think Granger's going to be harder than you give her credit for. Hey, maybe you'll never get her."

"Be realistic, Blaise" Draco laughed in that cocky way of his. "Well, we'll soon see."

**Again, thanks to everyone for reading. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and please keep the reviews coming. It really means a lot!**


	5. Chapter 5

An Innocence Restored

**Author's Note: Thanks to people who read the last chapter! Hope you all enjoy this chapter and please review!**

**THANK YOU:**

**Starlight000: Thank you very much for your review! It means a lot. I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

**Lyrics: You're everything that I want, but you don't want me.**

Chapter Five

When Hermione woke up that morning, she was adamant that she wouldn't talk to Ron. She felt as though she had never been this angry with him before. As she got dressed, she found herself arguing with him in her head. Words couldn't even describe how much he had irritated her.

Over the past few days, she had been getting on rather well with Draco and she could no longer understand why there was such a large rift between the two groups. Draco was no longer horrible to most other people anymore. Hermione even found herself thinking that Draco was becoming a better person than Ron and Harry. If they ever found out that she had thought that, their friendship would surely be over. She had no doubt that Draco would welcome her with open arms, though. Oh, why did everything have to be so difficult at Hogwarts? Hermione may be able to solve any problem in a textbook, but when it came to judging people, she wasn't quite as smart as she would have liked to be.

At breakfast, Hermione sat alone. It was still incredibly early in the morning, so most people were still in bed. That was Hermione's tactic. At the minute, she couldn't face Ron and Harry or she believed that her anger was simply going to bubble over and that would definitely not be a good thing for anyone.

Of course, Draco would be here, though. Lately he seems to be absolutely everywhere she is. It's like he was stalking her. In fact, there was no way that Hermione would put stalking past him. After all, there are much worse things that Draco has done.

For the first time, Hermione didn't feel a pang of annoyance at seeing him. All the times she had seen him in the library she had wished he would just go away and leave her to get on with her work. This time was completely different. Usually when she has a fight with Ron, it's swept under the rug and all is well once more rather rapidly. It was different this time. She simply couldn't find it in her to forgive him just yet. She couldn't comprehend talking to Harry about it because she knew he would only take Ron's side. Perhaps Draco would be the right person to talk to about this. She needed an ear to listen to her babble about how annoyed she was.

As though he had read her mind, Draco sauntered over to where she sat at the Gryffindor table. This was so wrong. If anyone saw him sitting with her at the Gryffindor table, there would be rumours galore. Draco was known for despising everything about Gryffindor. Usually he wouldn't be caught dead sitting anywhere near here.

"Good morning, Hermione" He smiled as he slipped into the seat opposite her and got to work with shovelling cereal into his mouth. The sheer sight of it sent Hermione into a fit of giggles. "What's so funny?"

"This is surreal" She sighed happily, her head resting on her arm. This was nice. Hell, she would go as far as to say she was comfortable here with him.

"What's surreal?" Draco asked confused.

"Everything" She answered with a smile. "You sitting here with me is surreal. It actually seems normal."

"It is normal, Hermione" Draco laughed. "There's no reason that we can't be friends."

"That's the most ridiculous thing you have ever said in your life" She snorted as she took a small bite of her toast. Was it weird that she was finding this breakfast more enjoyable than any of the ones she had had with Ron and Harry? Draco had a completely different sense of humour. It was one that Hermione found rather refreshing and amusing herself. Yes, if Ron and Harry ever found out that she was thinking this, they would have her guts for garters.

"And why is that?" Draco asked, a ghost of a smile on his face as he watched her eat. She took only tiny bites and that was when Draco realised that she possessed an elegance that no one ever seemed to notice. Was it true that she was actually graceful?

"There are plenty of reasons as to why we can't be friends" Hermione sighed, wishing that she was wrong and there was absolutely every reason to be friends. She liked Draco too much when he was like this to just sweep it away as though it meant nothing.

"Give me three" He challenged, taking on a posture very similar to hers as he rested his own head on his hand.

"You're in Slytherin and I'm in Gryffindor. Harry and Ron would be ever so annoyed if they found out that we were friends and you've called me a Mudblood more times than I can count" Hermione answered, her voice growing more sad as the list went on. All of these reasons were perfectly acceptable for reasons not to be friends, but she would give anything to abolish them.

"Okay, you have a very fair point there" Draco noted, moving his head from side to side as though he was looking for a way to make this seem not as bad as it was looking. "But you know that I've changed!"

"Oh Draco, please don't start this again" Hermione groaned. "Is it really so hard to just have a care free breakfast with you? Look, I don't know for sure if you've changed. It's going to take a lot longer than just a couple of days and a few breakfasts together for me to decide that."

"Once again you have a fair point" Draco sighed. "How about we spend more time together. You know, we could do it away from Hogwarts if you didn't want anyone to know that I was a potential friend of yours."

The blush rose to her cheeks before she even knew what was happening. She didn't want to spend any extra time with Draco Malfoy, did she? Oh gosh! She never thought she would ever be in the position where this would be a very real possibility. Oh, this couldn't be happening to her. Well, she had to give him an answer. She couldn't just sit and stare at him as though he had rabies. He'd know something was up if she did that.

"Feel free to answer at any time" Draco chuckled. Oh, he did know what was going through her head. Well, all she had to do was be very delicate with her answer.

"Are you sure that's wise?" She asked. Well, that was possibly the most ridiculous thing she had ever said. Why couldn't she have just made an excuse? She could have just said she wouldn't be able to spare any time because she had so much work to do. Well, it's not like that would be hard for him to believe. After all, she's constantly in the library.

"Hermione, dear" Draco began. "You do realise that I can tell that you're not very comfortable with the idea of us spending time together."

"Oh no!" Hermione gasped. Oh brilliant, she had managed to hurt his feelings now. Why did she always screw things up!? "I didn't mean anything like that. I just I'm not entirely sure if I want to. I mean, shouldn't we wait a while just in case…"

"Hermione, you're making no sense" He laughed, shaking his head at her rambling. He didn't think it would be this hard and confusing as this. "I know you think that it's an incredibly bad idea because we're from different houses and everyone will talk about it if we do become friends, but can't you just break the rules for this? Well, we all know it's not the first time you've broken rules."

Draco spoke sense. Everything that came out of his mouth was exactly right and completely and utterly true. There was to be no arguing with his logic. It made a hell of a lot more sense than Hermione's did. She was beginning to think that this year would have been so much easier if Draco just stuck with hating her all the time. At least she would know how to react to him then.

"I know I'm not" She sighed in frustration. Why couldn't this just be as easy as a potions test for her? She'd be getting everything right if it was. "I'll think about it."

"Hey, I finally managed to get a proper answer out of her." Draco teased. "Now I never thought that would ever happen. I'll check up with you soon, okay? Maybe you could tell me what's got you so down. It's not hard to tell that you're upset. My money's on Weasley"

"Yeah whatever" Hermione grumbled as Draco sauntered out of the room with that cocky attitude that Hermione found herself growing to like. Was she really finding it charming? Oh god, she was so going to hell. Surely it couldn't be a good idea to slag off your best friend to someone who you used to be your enemy. Well, if it was such a bad thing, why was she so tempted to do it?

"Don't worry, I won't tell Ron about any of that" Harry sighed as he sat in the seat that Draco had previously taken up. How had she not even seen him come in? Perhaps Harry was a lot more understanding than she gave him credit for.

"Thank you very much, Harry" Hermione sighed in relief. "I really do think Draco's changing because of what happened to his father."

"Just promise me that you'll be careful" Harry muttered. Hmm, just because he wasn't running away to tell Ron about what he saw, it didn't mean that he approved of it any more.

"I promise" Hermione mumbled. Was this ever going to turn out well for her? And she never even got her listening ear over her issues with Ron. This day looked as though it was going to be a bad one for her.

…

As Draco left the Great Hall, he began to feel guilty over what he was doing to Hermione. It felt as though that conversation with her had been real and genuine. It wasn't as bad as he thought it would be talking to her. Actually, he found it rather nice to talk to someone new. She didn't judge him quite as much as everyone else did. It was an enjoyable change for him.

Even so, he could never resist the chance to win a bet. It's not like he'd really be hurting her feelings. All he had to do is take her out on a date and then they'd both realise that they weren't compatible and it would be a mutual decision not to see each other again. Draco would get his money, Hermione would make up with Ron again and Blaise would be proven wrong. It's a win for everybody, right? Perhaps he should have just taken the advice of his mother and not came back to Hogwarts this year. It would have save d him a hell of a lot of trouble.

**I guess this chapter was more of just a filler than anything else. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this chapter and please keep the feedback coming. It really means a lot to me. Oh, and I apologise for taking so long to get this update up. I'll try and get the next one up sooner than I did with this one, but I've got exams for the next month and a half. Good things about this is that after that I will be finished with high school, so updates will be so much quicker!**


	6. Chapter 6

An Innocence Restored

**Thank you to anyone who read the previous chapter. It really means a lot! I hope you all enjoy this one! Please drop a review off on your way out.**

**Lyrics: Now I believe in more than I can see. Now I can breathe again and I don't need a map to know the way. I don't need a map. You always light the path.**

Chapter Six

Hermione still wasn't talking to Ron. Harry was being a lot nicer to her, but Ron was still in the stages of anger where he would leave a room if she was to enter. It was different this time, though. She would normally be very annoyed by his ignorance, but it didn't matter much to her this time. She had tried and tried to figure out why it was so, but nothing came to her mind.

Perhaps it was just because he had acted like this so many other times that it was no longer a worry to her. It was quite obvious that after perhaps a week, he would reluctantly apologise and all would go back to how it used to be until next time. He would just have to learn to respect her possible friendship with Draco.

Well, it didn't seem like that was going to actually happen anytime soon.

It had been a few days since her breakfast with Draco. He had not harassed her since then. It almost felt weird not to have her daily awkward conversation with him. Hermione was beginning to think that everything he had told her had been a lie. That hurt a hell of a lot more than anything that Ron was doing to her.

When Hermione woke up that Saturday morning, she set about her usual routine. Well, her usual routine now that she wasn't speaking to Ron. She'd simply go down to the library and get some hard work put in until Ron grew up and started speaking to her again. That didn't sound like anything too difficult to do.

Oh, but it was. She had barely been in the library for five minutes when Draco shuffled into the seat next to her. For once, she was glad to see his face. She had been beginning to think that he wouldn't show up again. She was so going to hell for enjoying her conversations with the boy who had lived to make her life hell.

"Hello, stranger" She grinned. This had been the first time that she instigated the conversation. It felt rather liberating if she did say so herself.

"Good morning, Hermione" He smiled back, peering over to see which book she was reading. "Hmm, real page turner you have there." Sarcastic Draco was often the most interesting.

"You don't have to be so judgemental just because it's not your cup of tea" Hermione noted with a raise of her eyebrows.

"This is true" Draco agreed. Wow, were they making progress? This must be the first time the unlikely pair had ever actually agreed on anything. "So, have you decided yet?"

"Decided on what?" Hermione asked as she skimmed the pages of her heavy book. She had to credit Draco, this really was quite a boring book.

"Decided on coming to hang out with me" Draco replied, fixing her with a raise of his own eyebrows. She didn't like it when the tables were turned. She had completely forgotten about the invitation she had received at breakfast the other morning. Oh, she hadn't had time to think about this and prepare her answer! Why does Draco Malfoy always insist on asking her these questions at the most awkward of times? She abruptly stopped reading and sat frigid in her seat as she tried to come up with an answer. He was hardly going to let her get away without giving him an answer this time.

"Yes, I'll go" Hermione blurted. "Come along, we can go for a walk down to the black lake." Well, she was beginning to feel rather rebellious now that Ron wasn't talking to her. It's not like he's her boss! He can't expect to tell her who she can and can't be friends with. It just doesn't work like that.

"Well, I wasn't expecting that" Draco chuckled as they set off. Like a gentleman, Draco continuously grabbed her arm when she slipped on the wet mud.

The walk down to the black lake wasn't a very long one, but it was a cold one. The bitter weather was really starting to settle in around Hogwarts, but Draco never noticed her teeth chattering away as they walked.

"So, I see you're not talking to Ron" Draco noted as they stood at the edge of the lake. Hermione could barely register what he was saying. After all, she was too busy watching him. This was simply just so shocking for her. She had never pinned Draco as the kind of boy to be content with watching a lake with a friend who he had hated the previous year. This realisation was enough to make her head spin to the point where she believed that she was going to have to sit down. Oh, this was all just so surreal.

"No, I'm not." She finally sighed, digging her hands deep into her pockets in a feeble attempt to keep warm.

"Is it because of me?" He asked. What could Hermione possibly say to this? If it was true that Draco was really changing, he wouldn't want to cause a problem between her and Ron, would he? Should she tell him the truth and tell him that it was his fault. Would that just make him relapse? That was quite possibly the last thing that she wanted right now. She didn't want to add any more confusion to the mix that was her life.

"Well, you know what Ron's like." She answered evasively. Technically she wasn't actually lying. All she was doing was missing parts out. That wasn't too bad, was it? Well, she would take the consequences for the later. "He's always overreacting about something."

"Hermione, you don't have to sugar coat it for me" Draco laughed. A hearty laugh that would make most girls fall in love with him in a second. "I can handle whatever it is that Weasley thinks of me. If he was just overreacting, you wouldn't have gotten so upset over it the other day."

"I don't know why I got upset over it" Hermione sighed truthfully. "It wasn't important. Ron's just being stupid as usual."

"Please tell me what happened" Draco pleaded, sounding rather frustrated in the process.

"Oh, it's a waste of time telling you" She grumbled, although she knew that Draco wasn't going to let it go until he knew exactly what had happened. "It's quite simple really. Ron just doesn't like the thought of us being friends. He thinks you're lying about wanting to change."

"Yes, you're right" Draco answered. "He is being stupid, but he's only doing it because he cares about you. He really does only want to keep you safe. If he sees me as a threat to you, he will want me out of the picture. Don't be too hard on him. After all, you're still not sure if I'm lying."

At that moment, Hermione believe him for the first time. If he could say those nice things about Ron, he must have changed. She hadn't felt this happy in a very long time. Especially not with the way Ron and Harry were constantly looking down their noses at her. Was what she was doing honestly that bad?

"I believe you, Draco" She finally mumbled. She had never been particularly good at talking about her feelings. It had just never come naturally to her. "I don't think you're lying about wanting to change. I don't think you're lying at all."

"Thank you, Hermione" Draco smiled. It was that smile that was ever so similar to his laugh. You know, the kind of smile that made every girl within a 10 mile radius swoon. "You have no idea how much that means to me. Come on, we should head back. It's growing even colder and your teeth are chattering like crazy."

…

As they walked back up to the castle, Draco felt a surge of satisfaction over how the walk had turned out. He had succeeded in forcing Weasley and Hermione into an awkward situation. It was one that seemed to be driving them apart rather effectively. Now Hermione finally believed that he was changing and that he wasn't just lying about it. He couldn't wait to see the look on Blaise's face when he found out how much of a success this bet was turning out to be for him.

Once they reached the main doors of the castle, Draco found his window of opportunity. It seemed that things were only going to get better from here. It was his chance to make a real difference to their new friendship.

"So, now that you finally believe that I'm changing out of the good of my heart" Draco grinned revelling in the fact that he could now tease her without fear of getting punched in the face. Her eye roll was also rather cute and endearing. Oh God, what was he saying!? It's safe to say that he wouldn't be telling Blaise about his little slip up. "Perhaps you would be interested in coming to Hogsmeade with me. There's a trip next Saturday."

He could tell straight away that he may have pushed his luck with this one. The shock that registered on her face was completely unmistakable. The only thing for it now was to flash her his ever so famous smile and hope that his charm would lure her into saying yes.

"Oh, are you sure you don't want to go with Blaise?" Hermione asked as she fiddled with her fingers. He could tell then that she wasn't used to being asked out on a date. It was almost adorable that she didn't know how to react. Stop it, Draco! "I'm sure he won't be very happy if you don't go with him."

"No, he'll be fine with it" Draco answered with a wave of his hand to show it was no big deal. Maybe if he just played the guilt card, she would say yes. "If you don't want to go with me, Hermione it's fine. I'll just stay in the castle next week."

"Oh no! I don't want you to do that just because I said no" She blurted. Yes, it seemed as though his plan was working now. She could never say no to him now. Well, if she did all he would have to do was mention his dad and she would say yes right away. Oh, this bet was ruining him. "Draco, if it means that much to you, I'll go."

"Thank you, Hermione" Draco smiled. "We'll talk more about it in the library some time. I'll see you later." Before she could even say anything back to him, he had walked through the doors and hurried through the hallways in search of Blaise. "I am so winning this bet" Draco muttered under his breath.

**Aha, I finally managed to get a chapter up quickly! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter even though I don't think it's that good ;) please leave a review! Thanks for reading.**


	7. Chapter 7

An Innocence Restored

**Thanks to anyone who read the previous chapter! I'm so sorry for not updating sooner. I've just gotten seven exams out of the way, but I'm on study leave and I only have three left, so I should be able to update a lot quicker than I was! Hope you all enjoy this chapter and please keep the feedback coming!**

**Lyrics: It don't do me any good. It's just a waste of time. What use is it to you what's on my mind?**

Chapter Seven

How on Earth was Hermione supposed to tell Harry and Ron that she was going to Hogsmeade with Draco!? It wasn't like something like that could ever casually come up in conversation. Certainly not without someone getting slapped. Ron would be infuriated with her. It would be ten times worse than the arguments about Scabbers back in their third year.

As Hermione pulled her baby blue jumper over her head, she wondered what it was she was actually worrying about. If Ron wanted to be mad at her for visiting Hogsmeade with Draco, it wasn't any of her business. As far as she was concerned, it was him with the problem. She would just have to act as though going to Hogsmeade with Draco was a completely regular occurrence. Yes, she would do just that.

As she left the common room, she felt a surge of pride over finally standing up against Ron. This was going to be a good day. She could feel it already.

As she stepped outside, the bubble of excited chatter invaded her ears and infected her along with it. Everyone always knew when a Hogsmeade trip was on. It was like the whole atmosphere in the castle changed.

"Hermione, where are you going?" An all too familiar voice asked as she strode past her usual group, pretending not to notice them. Hmm, perhaps she was more of a coward than she usually believed herself to be. She must never act like that again.

"Oh, I'm going to Hogsmeade with someone different this trip" She answered, meeting the confused eyes of none other than Ron Weasley. As soon as those eyes fixed on her, she felt a wave of guilt crash over her. What was she doing? He had been her best friend since their very first year at Hogwarts and now she was abandoning him to go to Hogsmeade with Draco Malfoy! If she went along with this, she was most certainly going to hell.

Even when she fabricated this perfectly acceptable argument in her head, she simply couldn't go back on her promise with Draco. The temptation was too much for even her to handle.

"Oh right" Ron said delicately, tentatively tasting the words as though they physically caused him sickness. After all, this seemed practically unheard of. "Who are you going with?"

"Draco" Hermione answered in such a casual manner that angered Ron even more than the initial going to Hogsmeade with Draco.

"You're going…Draco…Hogsmeade…what?!" Ron spluttered as he clenched and unclenched his fists as though he was literally trying to grope for the answer out of thin air.

"Yes, I'm going to Hogsmeade with Draco" Hermione answered once more, feigning annoyance as she tapped her foot impatiently off the stone ground in an impatient manner for effect. The look on Ron's face was priceless. He looked positively shocked and floundered. Yes, Hermione had done her job correctly and by God it felt good. "Are we done now?"

Ron said nothing.

The look of shock drained from his face before a one of anger and betrayal took over, his eyes narrowing into slits that Hermione could barely see. She couldn't remember ever seeing him this mad at her.

"Go on then" He muttered ominously as his fists clenched and unclenched. Yes, Hermione was almost sure that this was the angriest that she had ever seen her red-headed friend. Oddly, she felt ever so proud at the fact that it was her to make him feel like this. Was Draco Malfoy rubbing off on her? She couldn't tell if that would be a good thing or a bad thing. "Go to your new best friend. See if we care."

"Fine, I will" Hermione huffed, strutting away from Ron and where Draco was waiting for her. She was so annoyed at him! Why had he not put up much a fight for her to go to Hogsmeade with him? After all, they had been best friends for several years. Was it really that easy for him to just throw that away as though none of it meant anything?

"What on Earth has gotten into you?" Draco asked as he led Hermione away from her friends. "You look as though you could kill someone with looks alone."

"I feel as though I could kill someone with looks alone" Hermione grumbled in agreement as she fiddled with her hands in agitation. Why was she letting Ron bug her so much?

"What's up?" Draco asked with what seemed like genuine concern over a friend.

"Oh, it's a long and pointless story" Hermione replied, waving it off as though it really was nothing even though it was weighing down on her heavily. "I'll tell you another day. I just really want to enjoy this Hogsmeade trip with you. It'll be a chance to get to know you better."

"Oh, that's wonderful" Draco mumbled. He really had been hoping to keep some distance with this girl. After all, he did plan to let her down when the right time came. All he had to do was make sure that she didn't really fall in love with him. That shouldn't be too hard, right?

…

By the time we finally arrived at Hogsmeade, I was ready to let my hair down a little. It had seemed like so long ago since I was last here. Well, the death of a father can make good times seem like years ago. It tends to make things a little more depressing.

"So, where do you want to go first?" Hermione asked excitedly as her eyes scanned the whole of Hogsmeade with a look of wonderment that Draco hadn't seen in a long time. It certainly wasn't a look that Draco would expect to see on Hermione's face when she was in the company of Draco himself.

"Wherever you want to go is fine by me" Draco answered with a sweet smile that was half-real. He had to admit that this trip to Hogsmeade was a lot better than he expected it was going to be.

"Well aren't you the most considerate friend ever?" Hermione noted with a grin as she led Draco straight towards the three broomsticks. "Harry and Ron usually dictate all of these Hogsmeade visits."

Once again, Draco found a window of opportunity. "That's because they're selfish. They don't seem to realise that you may actually have wants and needs too." A look of confusion swept over Hermione's face. She couldn't begin to understand how to respond to that. Everything that Draco said was what she had been telling herself for years. When it came to their trio, Hermione often seemed to come last. She knew that. Draco knew that. So, there shouldn't be a problem. But there was. It was different hearing it come from Draco. If she agreed with him then it would be a betrayal towards Harry and Ron which was something that she wasn't prepared to do. If she stayed silent, she would be acting as though Harry and Ron were saints which was ever so far from the truth.

"Oh, I wouldn't go as far as to call them selfish" Hermione chuckled weakly. It must be incredibly obvious to Draco that she was lying right through her teeth. "They're just rather enthusiastic about Hogsmeade. There are so many things for them to do that they're moving at one hundred miles per minute. They only reason that we don't really get to do what I want to do is because I'm so quiet."

Lying didn't suit her whatsoever. Well, she could do it to a teacher if it meant getting out of trouble, but she just couldn't seem to do that with Draco. Especially not now that she was calling him her friend. Friends shouldn't lie to each other, right? Then why was she doing it to Draco right now? For the first time in her life, no answer came to mind.

"Whatever you say, dear" Draco smiled…genuinely as he placed a glass of butterbeer down for her, already taking a sip of his own. "You know that you don't have to pretend when you're with me, right? I promise you that I won't tell anyone what you may say about Weasley and Potter."

"Oh, I know that you wouldn't do anything like that" Hermione assured, fixing him with a smile of her own. "It wouldn't be the worst thing if you did tell them anything I might say about them. At least it would teach them a lesson. It's just hard to explain how I feel. If I say something to you, I still feel as though I'm doing wrong by them."

"Ah, yes" Draco agreed. "I almost forgot that they're not my biggest fans. Of course they wouldn't like it if it was me you were confiding in."

"I'm glad you understand" Hermione sighed sadly as she rested her head on her hands and stared into her butterbeer as though it was the most mesmerising thing on the planet. Anything was worth it to avoid Draco's eyes at the moment. "It seems like you're the only one who actually does understand why people act the way they do lately."

"Oh come on, please don't be like this" Draco whined, a glint of teasing shimmering in his eyes. This was clearly his way of trying to cheer Hermione up. "Come on, this was supposed to be a fun trip to Hogsmeade and you're harshing the vibe."

"Did you just say I was harshing the vibe?" Hermione laughed loudly, causing several people to shoot her a glare as they attempted to drink in peace.

"Yes I did" Draco answered seriously with a firm nod as assurance. "You're making me so miserable that you've forced me to use that dastardly phrase."

"Okay, okay, okay" Hermione sighed with a smile. It was funny to see how much the boy she had hated not so long ago, could brighten up her day in a mere heartbeat. "You win, Draco. I'll be cheerful and make this the best Hogsmeade trip you have ever been on."

"Now there's the Hermione Granger I know and occasionally hate, but love really." Draco cheered as he sipped at his butterbeer once more.

"I'm not expert, but I'm pretty sure that that's not the phrase" Hermione pointed out with a raise of her eyebrows.

"Hermione Granger's not an expert at something?" Draco asked as he feigned shock. "Someone call the police. This is not happening!"

"Shut up, Malfoy" Hermione chuckled with a shake of her head, still unable to believe that this was possibly her best Hogsmeade trip in all of her years at Hogwarts.

"Nope, I have freedom of speech" Draco declared, believing that now was as good a moment as any to do what he had been planning to do for days. He leaned over the table, pressed his lips to hers in a brief, chaste kiss and then leaned back. No one could say it was romantic, but it was just enough to get Hermione's heart racing. "Well would you look at that? I got Hermione Granger to shut up. Come on, buddy. There's plenty more that we need to get through today." Yes, it was just a friendly kiss, but it was enough to make Hermione wonder what else was in store for them.

**Again, I apologise for taking so long to update, but hopefully this small kiss has made up for it ;) I hope you all enjoyed reading this chapter and please keep the feedback coming!**


	8. Chapter 8

An Innocence Restored

**Thank you very much to anyone who read the previous chapter! It really means a lot to me! Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this update and please review!**

**Lyrics: I swear I'll never let you die**

Chapter Eight

Once Hermione finally got back to the castle, her mind was reeling. Absolutely whirring with thoughts of what had happened and what they could mean. Perhaps Draco was just a little touchy feely when it came to his friends. Perhaps it was common knowledge that he kissed and hugged his friends whenever he was in a good mood. Even with this perfectly plausible explanation for what happened, Hermione couldn't relax. That just didn't sound like the kind of thing Draco would do…never mind take it lightly.

"Did you enjoy your date?" A voice spat from the common room sofa as Hermione trudged through the portrait hole. Oh, she simply couldn't put up with his behaviour right now. She was already tired and angry enough as it was. Did she really have to put up with Ron asking questions about what happened? She didn't even want to face the truth of it herself.

"It wasn't a date" Hermione replied in a tone that sounded oddly like a growl. Yes, that was completely unexpected coming from her. Even so, she was reluctant to say anything more to Ron on the matter. Some things were to be left private and shouldn't be meddled in.

"Well, it seemed that way to me" Ron pointed out as he lay back on the sofa casually. Oh, why could he not understand that he should just leave things alone? It was clearly obvious that Hermione didn't want to talk about it! Perhaps Ron really was just one of the most clueless people Hermione had ever known. She wouldn't put it past him.

"It would seem like that to you" Hermione muttered under her breath as she made her way towards the girls' dormitories. It was probably one of her bad ideas to say something like that to Ron when they were in this situation. It was clearly obvious that he wasn't going to let it go.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ron asked as he launched off the sofa and jammed his hands onto his hips, trying desperately to summon an offensive demeanour. He failed straight away. Hermione could never be scared of Ron. After all, she knew him too well…knew all of his tricks as well as his weaknesses.

"You know exactly what I mean" Hermione accused, pointing a finger straight at him as her eyes narrowed into incredibly thin slits, so that Ron could barely even see them anymore. Yes, he had annoyed her beyond recognition.

"Trust me, I really don't have a clue what you're going on about anymore" Ron assured, ignoring the few stares from the other Gryffindor students who were watching the argument from around the room. There was always gossip going around Hogwarts, this would fade rather quickly. "I barely even know you anymore."

"Oh, don't be so dramatic" Hermione scoffed as she held back a laugh, knowing that it would only betray her in angering Ron even more than he was. As if that was even possible. After all, his face was reddening even more than his hair. Yes, he must be very angry with Hermione for that to be happening. "I'm exactly the same person as I've always been. I'm just friends with Draco now. That is quite literally the only change. If you can't handle me being friends with him then I guess that means that we can no longer be friends. Ron, he's not out to get you."

"It's not just that you're friends with Malfoy!" Ron exclaimed, throwing his arms out to emphasise his point. Well, this was getting very heated very fast. She had not expected Ron to be so blunt, outright and bold with her. Especially not with a topic as explosive as Draco. This was certainly coming as a surprise to her. "You have no idea what's going on around you, do you? Oh my, you're completely oblivious to all of this. Well, Hermione…if you're so smart, figure it out."

"Ronald Weasley, just tell me before I march out of here and never talk to you again" Hermione threatened, her foot tapping in impatience as she turned a bright red. Why couldn't all of these people watching them just leave them alone to have some privacy for five minutes? Is that really too much to ask? Apparently it is for they were still stood around the outskirts of the common room even after Hermione wished for all of this.

"Ever since you've been talking to him, your whole personality has changed" Ron answered, looking as though this whole conversation was literally painful for him. At least he was being honest with her now. She had asked for this. "It's like you don't care about how you treat people anymore. It's like…it's like you've been a Slytherin since first year."

Now that hurt. That hurt more than anything Hermione could ever imagine. It was as though he had just stabbed her brutally with a poisonous blade. How could he ever say something so dastardly and offensive to her? How could those words leave his mouth without making him feel physically sick?

Before Hermione could even stop them, tears brimmed in her eyes. Just in time, she managed to stop them from falling. No, she couldn't let Ron know that he had forced her to cry.

"Well, I think you've made it abundantly clear where your loyalties lie" She said with a voice so eerily calm it managed to fill the room despite how quietly she was speaking. "Just know that if the roles had been reversed, I would have never said something like that to you."

With that said, she flicked her hair over her shoulder, turned on her heel and marched up the steps towards her dormitory. Only then did she allow any tears to slip out and spill over her cheeks.

…

Once Draco arrived back at the common room, he was greeted by a much different scene than the one that Hermione had to face. Blaise sat on the sofa, his eyes trained on Draco as though he was trying to stare straight through him.

"How did it go?" Blaise finally asked, crossing one leg over the other like they do in the movies. He may as well have just placed a kitten on his lap and began stroking it in a way that out everyone on the edge of their seats.

"Better than I thought it was going to go" Draco answered as he edged into the seat opposite Blaise. For a moment, he didn't feel right talking about his private business with Hermione to Blaise. Oh God, he wasn't turning soppy now, was he?

"Feel free to elaborate at any given moment" Blaise sighed impatiently. Yes, he was looking like an evil tyrant right now. This was possibly one of the most awkward and uncomfortable conversations Draco had ever had with Blaise.

"There isn't really much to elaborate on" Draco lied with a casual shrug of his shoulders. He would give anything to just lie in his bed right about now and avoid these awful questions from Blaise. Hmm, lying in bed sounded like a very relaxing plan. "I'm beat. I might go for a lie down."

"I'm not stupid, Mr Malfoy" Blaise grinned as he tapped rhythmically on his thigh. The beat was off-putting. Was he deliberately trying to freak Draco out? If he was, it was working.

"I don't know what you're talking about" Draco lied once more. They just seemed to be spilling out of his mouth tonight.

"Yes, you do" Blaise countered with yet another of his grins that looked ever so creepy. Oh, Draco's bed wasn't far away. That was all he wanted. "Don't try and avoid my questions about Hermione. Did something happen between you two at Hogsmeade?"

"Oh, you're ever so persistent. It's positively ridiculous!" Draco grumbled with an exasperated gesture of his hands before relaxing into the sofa. Something told him he wasn't going to get to go to bed for a while now that Blaise was all interested in his life and the Hogsmeade trip.

"Whatever you say, Draco" Blaise said delicately, once again crossing his legs once more and continuing with the rhythmic tapping. "Please don't make me ask you again. What happened?"

"Nothing much. I just gave her a kiss before we left" Draco admitted. For the first time in his life, he felt a blush creeping onto his cheeks. Oh goodness, what on Earth was happening to him lately? This was not the kind of feeling he was expecting or wanting. In fact, he rather despised this feeling. Yes, he would give anything to be rid of it.

"Now that doesn't sound like not much to me" Blaise grinned, showing all of his pearly white teeth off as he leaned forward in his chair, ever so intrigued by this new piece of information. "What sort of kiss was it?"

"Why do you have to ask such awkward questions!?" Draco demanded, adamant that he wasn't going to answer this one. No, that question was going just a little too far for his liking. Blaise didn't have to know that one. "You don't need to know that!"

"Answer it" Blaise countered, a voice so calm and pleasant it sounded almost deadly.

"It was just a peck" Draco caved. "Nothing more. Nothing less. Are you quite done interrogating me now?"

"I only have two more questions. Well, one depending on what you answer." Blaise answered with a smug smirk. God, Draco was beginning to like Blaise less and less these days.

"Do you have to be so cryptic all the time?" Draco grumbled. "What are they?"

"Have you fulfilled the points of the bet?" Blaise asked, already digging into his pocket to get the money that he believed Draco had already earned. It would be so easy for Draco to just lie and say he had. Then he could take the money and stop this silly game he was playing with Hermione. The idea sounded ever so tempting.

"No, I haven't" Draco blurted before he had a chance to stop himself. Blaise's hand released the money back into his pocket and then went straight back to tapping once more. That was probably one of the biggest mistakes Draco had ever made in his life.

"So, now I get to ask you my next question" Blaise sighed, an impatient air in his voice once more. "When will you fulfil the points of the bet?"

"Soon" Draco answered with complete faith. Yes, he would have Hermione head over heels for him very soon. That was if she wasn't already head over heels for him. She was acting very weird after their kiss. She couldn't wait to get back to the castle. Perhaps it was to tell her friends. After all, most of them were attracted to him. "Yes, I'll be done very soon. You can count on that."

"Thank you" Blaise replied, barely even making eye contact. "I've been growing very bored of all of this waiting. You can go to bed now."

Draco couldn't leave the common room fast enough. What had he just done? It was right within his grasp. He could have won the bet and then not have to spend any more time with Hermione, but he let that slip right through his fingers and now he was stuck needing to talk to her once more after the awkwardness of their kiss. Oh, he was ever so angry with himself for doing that. He just wished that he could explain to himself why he would throw all of that away when the end was so close and in sight for him. He made no sense to himself anymore.

**Well, at least I managed to get this update in quicker than the previous one. I hope you have all enjoyed this update and please drop a review off on your way out! Thanks for reading!**


	9. Chapter 9

An Innocence Restored

**Thank you so much to anyone who read the previous chapter. It means so much to me! I hope you all enjoy this chapter which will be the final one of this story! I'm sorry it was so short!**

**Lyrics: Give you what you want, but nothing is for free.**

Chapter Nine

Draco believed that a visit to the library was in order today. After all, Hermione seemed to think a trip to the library was appropriate no matter how she was feeling. If she was happy, a visit to the library was in order. If she was sad, a visit to the library was in order. If she was confused, a visit to the library was in order. Yes, the library would be his best bet of finding Hermione.

He was still feeling rather confused. This library visit could be therapeutic for him also. After the way Blaise was acting, he didn't know how to behave around him anymore. It was as though the roles had been reversed and Blaise was the one who was always in control. His sudden want to keep what he was doing with Hermione a secret was making his head spin in absolute confusion.

He couldn't possibly allow himself to actually grow feelings for Hermione. That had never been part of the plan and he certainly wasn't going to allow it to become part of it. No, that was just wrong. It simply couldn't happen. Blaise would positively kill him if it did.

Unsurprisingly, Hermione sat at their usual table at the very back of the library with her head buried deeply in a book that bore no interest to Draco. She chewed on her thumbnail as her eyes rapidly scanned the pages. Wow, she must really get into all of the books that she reads. It was almost as though the walls around her could be set on fire and she wouldn't even realise because she was so engrossed in whatever it was that she was reading.

"Hermione" Draco said delicately as he slipped into the seat opposite her. He didn't know if he was imagining it or not, but her face seemed to fall as soon as she heard his voice. Draco was beginning to think this was all too real. Yes, he was creating problems for Hermione that she didn't want even if she was attracted to Draco. It was then, sitting there with Hermione, that Draco realised that what he was doing was cruel. Hermione didn't deserve to have to put up with all of this.

"What do you want?" She asked curtly. There was no anger in her voice, but there was none of its usual warmth. She wanted straight answers now. That much was clear to Draco.

"You've been acting weird ever since I kissed you" Draco pointed out. Perhaps being blunt was the best way to go about this. After all, it was obvious she just wanted to know where stood with all of this. Yes, he may as well just get it all out in the open as quickly and as simply as possible.

"Indeed I have been acting weird since you kissed me" Hermione agreed casually as though the reason as to why should be simple and easy to understand. Perhaps Draco was just slow with all of this. After all, he can safely say he has never been in a position like this one before. Yes, he would just go with that for now. It would make him feel better and less confused.

"Would you care to explain to me why you have been acting weird?" Draco asked once it was clear that wasn't going to elaborate on her statement. "I kind of feel like I'm in the dark a bit here."

"You and me both, Malfoy" Hermione agreed once more. This seemed as though it was going to be a very difficult conversation to have. She didn't seem very intent on giving any. No, she was only sitting with him now to receive answers. There was no way she was going to give them.

"Oh, so you're back to calling me Malfoy?" Draco questioned with the ghost of a grin. Now was probably not the right moment to be making jokes. Hermione already seemed as though she was in a rather fragile state.

"Yes, until this is all cleared up you're going back to being Malfoy" Hermione said in her curt manner than didn't suit her whatsoever. Well, at least she was giving some answer now no matter how brief it may be.

"Now that's just being petty" Draco noted, trying his best to keep his voice down. He didn't suspect that Hermione would appreciate a scene being made in front of everyone in the library.

"Perhaps I am being petty" Hermione agreed. All of this agreeing was beginning to freak Draco out. He had never really been used to a compliant Hermione. No, he didn't think this personality suited her at all. "But that doesn't mean I'm going to stop doing it."

"Okay then" Draco sighed, almost worried at how she would react if he tried to say anything more. "Whatever gets you through the day."

"Could you please tell me what you're doing?" Hermione asked with all the politeness that she could muster, but Draco could still hear an edge of frustration in her voice. She was not happy at all by all of this.

"Okay, I guess I should just come right out and tell you" Draco sighed as he experienced his own realisation. Everything that he had been doing with Hermione lately wasn't at all faked. No, he had enjoyed their library conversations. He had enjoyed eating breakfast with her. He had enjoyed taking her for a walk by the Black Lake. He had enjoyed taking her to Hogsmeade with him. He had especially enjoyed kissing her no matter how brief it may have been. It seemed that the bet was just an excuse for him to do all of these things without turning as many heads.

It seemed that now was the time that Draco was going to have to tell her how he really felt despite what Blaise may see or do to him. With a deep breath, he opened his mouth and readied himself to launch into his explanation that she probably wasn't going to listen to anyway, but it was worth a try. What did he have to lose now?

…

Hermione was infuriated. She practically felt as though she was going to explode in anger. Why was Draco being like this with her? It couldn't possibly be that difficult to just explain to her what was on his mind. He had been doing so well the past couple of weeks. They had talked as though they had been real friends. Surely doing that one more time couldn't hurt. He could manage it. She knew he could. The only problem was that she didn't know how to make him believe that he could.

"Well, I guess if I'm putting it bluntly I would tell you that I enjoyed kissing you" Draco finally blurted. Hermione couldn't believe her eyes. Draco was actually blushing and beginning to look as though he was about to start stuttering excuses for what he had just said.

As much as Hermione wanted to tell Draco that she enjoyed it too, she simply sat frozen in her chair and stared at Draco as though he was going insane.

"Feel free to say something at any moment" Draco finally said once it seemed as though you could cut through the tense atmosphere with a knife. Yes, the silence had been rather deafening. Hermione would agree on that with him. It had been simply astounding.

"You enjoyed kissing me?" Hermione asked as though she needed some more clarification from him. After all, this had been entirely unexpected…just like the actual kiss itself. She had never thought something like that would ever happen.

"Yes" Draco answered, his voice now taking on a croaky quality.

"So, where do we go from that?" Hermione asked, finally discarding of her book and taking to tapping the table annoyingly. It stopped Draco from thinking properly.

"Well, where do you want to go from that?" Draco asked. He couldn't understand why this was so hard. He had dated a tonne of girls. Hell, he was practically an expert when it came to them now. Why was Hermione confusing him so damn much? This was so not fair.

"Oh no, I'm leaving that entirely up to you" Hermione explained. Yes, she was ever so tactful. It seemed that making Draco confess his heart to her was her way of going about this. That way she didn't embarrass herself. Draco liked her way of thinking. It was another thing to add to the growing list of reasons why he would be lucky to have her.

"Oh, you're so considerate" Draco said sarcastically as he began tapping his fingers off the table much like Hermione had been.

"Well, you know me" Hermione joked. "Always try to help you out."

"I want it to go somewhere" Draco finally said with a resigned sigh because he was damn near sure that Hermione wasn't going to feel the same way at all. "I want to be with you even if it is completely unrealistic."

"Who said it was unrealistic?" Hermione asked, sensing how uncomfortable he was with admitting all of this to her. She may as well at least try to help him out a little if it meant getting this over and done with faster.

"Well, I just figured that it would be" Draco answered, confusion morphing in his eyes. "You're in Gryffindor and I'm in Slytherin. We shouldn't go together."

"Yes well" Hermione mumbled. Now she knew how Draco felt, she was beginning to feel rather guilty for forcing him into doing all of the talking. It should have been her. She's better at communicating feelings. "If two people go together then there's nothing anyone can do about it."

With a confidence she didn't know she possessed, she leaned over the table and let their lips meet right in front of everyone in the library. She no longer cared what others may think about her or Draco. For once she was going to live her life the way that she wanted to live it. She was going to live it as though she was the only one who mattered.

This kiss was much better than the first. This kiss was longer, sweeter and hell of a lot more romantic. It was a shame it had to end.

"So, now that we're together" Draco grinned. "What are you going to do about Weasley?"

"What can I do about Ron?" Hermione asked with a shrug of her shoulders. Although she may seem casual about it, she wished that Ron could just accept who it was that she wanted to be with and get over himself long enough to realise that she was happy. "If he can't accept the fact that I'm with you then it's his problem…not mine…not ours."

With that said, she took his hand and led him straight out of the library.

Yes, today was a good day. There was no need for Draco to tell anyone about the bet he made with Blaise. He'd tell him the bet was off and then all would be good. Hermione had finally accepted that Ron not accepting Draco wasn't her problem and she had finally relaxed enough to put herself forward. Yes, today was a very good day…and Draco had got the girl.

**Probably a very bad last chapter, but hey I'll post it anyway ;) I hope you have all enjoyed this chapter and the story on a whole. I'd just like to say thank you to anyone who has read any of my chapters and other stories and for reviewing. You have no idea how much it really means to me! Thank you! **


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